TRANSCRIPT OF PETITION OF
LT. LEMUEL L. LAWRENCE
TO AMEND HIS MILITARY SERVICE RECORD

State of Illinois

Johnson County

To the Adjutant General U.S.A.

Your Petitioner Lemuel L. Lawrence being duly Sworn on his
Oath would say unto your honor that he was commissioned as the 2nd Lt. of
Company B. 6th Regt Ill. Cav. Vol., said Commission bearing date February 3rd,
1862, That he continued to act as such 2nd Lt until on or about 7th day of May
1862 at Which time he tendered his resignation for the following reasons that on
or about the 1st day of March 1862 your Petitioner was Ordered by Capt. J. B.
Morray, the Capt of your petitioner's company to take with him certain other
enlisted men of said company and pursue and bring back to said company a certain
member of his company who had deserted from said company while stationed at
Shawneetown Illinois, and also to arrest a certain rebel residing in Johnson
County Illinois, and while in the act of arresting said rebel your petitioner
was shot and badly wounded by said rebel and his company as they were
congregated together to resist an arrest.

Your petitioner was so badly wounded by said rebel that your
petitioner was under the necessity of tendering his resignation which he done as
above stated. Your petitioner in filing the application for his resignation, not
being well posted in such business, overlooked the main features in tendering
his resignation; and in fact your petitioner at the time of making application
was in a very bad condition from the wounds received and does not recollect the
main features on which said application was based for resignation, but the above
are the true facts as set forth in this petition.

Your petitioner would show under your honor that Capt. J. B.
Morray the officer that gave your petitioner the orders to bring back the
deserter and also to arrest the rebel spoken of is now dead and has been for
some 10 to 12 years. The order detailing your petitioners was verbal and not
written.

Your petitioner would further say that he is at this time a
pensioner as Psn. Certificate No 155,706 said pension being granted by Special
Act of Congress May 25, 1878. Your petitioner would show unto your honor that at
the time said act was passed said pension did not extend back to the date of the
injury, as he is informed, in consequence of a defect in the records of the War
Dept., thereby doing your petitioner a great injustice.

Your petitioner makes this application to have the records of
the War Dept. amended according to the true facts pertaining to said case, all
of which your petitioner ever prays etc.

Dated this November 3rd, 1885.

Lemuel L. Lawrence
Late 2 Lt. Co. B. 6th
Reg. Ills. Vol. Cav.

Subscribed and Sworn
to before me this Nov. 3
AD 1885

D.E. Sheenon (Spelling uncertain - editor)
Notary Public

Editor's Note: Punctuation, captialization, and paragraphing have been added
or changed for readability. The name of the Notary Public was unclear.